The Shadows

The Shadows by Alex North, 323 pages

When he was 15, Paul Adams was briefly accused of a horrible murder of one of his close friends, let off the hook only when another classmate walked out of the nearby woods covered in blood and holding the murder weapon; a second classmate who was involved never came out of the woods. But the crime took its toll on Paul's life, and when he left for college a few years later, he never came back. Not until 25 years later, when his senile mother is on her deathbed. Paul's return has stirred up not only his own feelings but also some haunting events in the town. Could the second murderer still be alive in those woods? And if so, could he want something from Paul after all these years?

A creepy, atmospheric tale, this thriller blends teenage theories about lucid dreaming with all-too-real psychological trauma. I'm not sure how I felt about the end, which seemed to wrap up a little oddly, or the mix of past and present first-person chapters with some third-person chapters about a detective--these became particularly difficult when Paul and the detective were interacting directly. But it was definitely creepy and didn't make it any easier for me to sleep at night. Good if you want a scare.